Helping to boost storage space

Synseal Extrusions supplies PVC-U window, door and conservatory systems to several hundred fabrication and installation companies throughout the UK.  Following the purchase of K2 Conservatories in Lancashire, where the Sidetrackers had been based, Synseal re-located them along with cantilever racking to its site in Nottinghamshire.

The trucks handle extrusions up to 6.5m long stored in the same cantilever racking layout used at K2 in Blackburn. They are all SO30B models with a 3t capacity at 400mm load centres and a lift height of 7m. The narrow design has allowed racking aisles to be reduced to 1710mm wide, maximising storage space. The sideloaders travel along the aisles and reach into the racking to handle a load, while in the free-movement areas they can travel in any direction and rotate on their own axis.

Stand-on operation gives drivers good all-round visibility, even at the full lift height, and they can adjust fork spread easily from 750mm to 2380mm to suit different loads.  The trucks are battery-powered and have twin electro-hydraulic motors that automatically run singly or together via a high-torque hydrostatic transmission system to a single high-grip drive wheel, which provides good traction in a wide range of conditions.

Synseal’s site in Nottinghamshire is the third location for the Sidetrackers and associated racking. They were first used by the Burnden Group in Bolton, Lancashire, before moving to a new distribution centre at Blackburn and then on to their current owner, Synseal.